Steve Albini

Nardwuar: Right off the bat, Steve Albini, I want to ask you about the importance of this band right here, the Mentally ill.

[Nardwuar hands Steve a Mentally IIl 45]

Steve Albini: The Mentally Ill were a unique and perverse punk band in Chicago. Well, actually, Deerfield, which is a suburb north of Chicago. They were a group of friends who played music and made one fantastic single and then later some other recordings. They played no live concerts during their initial incarnation and then many years later they reformed and played a concert or two.

Nardwuar: Amazing guitar sound, isn’t it?

Steve Albini: Brutal. One of the ugliest sounds every on record, yes. This record is a pivotal record in the sound of punk rock, in my opinion.

Nardwuar: I have a gift for you. I’m not sure if you already have this gift, but I’m giving it to you. Kurt Cobain’s Journals. Are you aware of his journals, Steve?

[Nardwuar hands a copy of a Kurt Cobain’s Journals to Steve]

Steve Albini: I think I was aware that this happened, but I haven’t looked through them, I don’t know them.
Nardwuar: It’s your own copy, for you.

Steve Albini: Well, thank you.

[Steve turns to a page in the journal]

Nardwuar: Kurt loved Big Black. He loved Big Black.

Steve Albini: This [looking at list in Kurt’s journals] is a Big Black song called “Crack Up” which only appeared on a compilation album, a touch-and-go compilation called God’s Favorite Dog. That’s a deep cut, as they would say. Some people would say. I wouldn’t normally say that, but I feel like it’s kind of appropriate here.

Nardwuar: It’s in Kurt’s journals, for you.

Steve Albini: Oh, well thank you.

Nardwuar: Was it fun recording Nirvana? Did you really light farts on fire?

Steve Albini: There was some fart lighting, but the band also got into this thing where they would spill alcohol on things and set it on fire. One of the things they spilled alcohol on was Dave Grohl, so there’s some polaroids of Dave Grohl with his ass on fire, things like that.